b5 - forgetting

Question 1

why do we forget?

Answer 1

memory has disappeared and is no longer available
or
memory can’t be retrieved and is not accessible

Question 2

how is information from the short term memory forgotten?

Answer 2

decay and displacement

Question 3

how is information from the long term memory forgotten?

Answer 3

interference, retrieval failure and lack of consolidation

Question 4

define interference

Answer 4

where two lots of information becomes confused in memory

Question 5

when is interference more likely to occur?

Answer 5

when memories are similar

Question 6

when is interference less likely to occur?

Answer 6

when there is a gap between the instances of leaning

Question 7

what are the two types of interference?

Answer 7

proactive interference
and
retroactive interference

Question 8

define proactive interference

Answer 8

when old information interferes with access to new information

Question 9

give an example of proactive interference

Answer 9

learning german but influenced by existing knowledge of french

Question 10

define retroactive interference

Answer 10

new information distorts existing (old) information

Question 11

give an example of retroactive interference

Answer 11

hard to recall prior knowledge of french after learning german

Question 12

name a study of proactive interference

Answer 12

Underwood (1957)

Question 13

explain Underwood’s interference study

Answer 13

words encountered later on in word list remembered worse than those earlier on in the list
ppts who learnt one list recalled 70%
ppts who learnt 10 or more recalled 20%

Question 14

name a study of retroactive interference

Answer 14

McGeoch and McDonald (1931)

Question 15

explain McGeoch and McDonald’s interference study

Answer 15

changed the amount of similarity between two sets of materials.
procedure: ppts learnt a list of 10 words until 100% accuracy, then learnt another.
group 1: synonyms.
group 2: antonyms.
group 3: unrelated to original.
group 4: nonsense syllables.
group 5: three-digit numbers.
group 6: (control group) no new list.
findings: performance depended on the second list, most similar material (synonyms) = worst recall - interference strongest when memories are similar - words with same meanings were confused with old material.
different material (numbers) number of items recalled increased

Question 16

state two strengths of interference theory

Answer 16

evidence from lab studies supports
eg. McGeogh and McDonald 
and
evidence from real life studies support 
eg. Baddeley and Hitch

Question 17

explain Baddeley and Hitche’s (1977) study of interference

Answer 17

asked rugby players to recall names of teams they’d played that season
players who had played fewer games recalled more than those who played more games

Question 18

state two limitations of interference theory

Answer 18

the use of artificial material in lab experiments (not reflective of everyday life) - lacks ecological validity
and
experiments are designed to produce maximum interference

Question 19

what’s the difference between accessibility and availability of information in memory?

Answer 19

material is not accessible (can’t find it) even though it is available (it is actually present)
this is likely due to a lack of the right triggers or cues

Question 20

define retrieval failure

Answer 20

a form of forgetting that occurs when we don’t have the necessary cues to access a memory
the memory is available but not accessible unless the suitable cues are provided.

Question 21

define what cues are

Answer 21

a trigger of information that allows us to access a memory.

such cues may be meaningful or indirectly linked by being encoded at the time of leaning

Question 22

define encoding specific principle

Answer 22

when a cue has to be present at encoding (learning) and at retrieval (recall)
if the cues are different there will be some forgetting

Question 23

what are mnemonics a type of?

Answer 23

meaningful cues - they are linked to the material to be remembered in a meaningful way.
eg. BECAUSE - Big Elephants Can…

Question 24

encoding specificity principle - what are the two types of non meaningful cue encoding?

Answer 24

context dependent forgetting - external/ environment cues, eg. weather / place
state dependent forgetting - internal cues, eg. mood, physical state (drunk)

Question 25

name a study of retrieval failure theory

Answer 25

Tilting and Pearlstone (1966)

Question 26

explain Tulving and Pearlstone’s study of retrieval failure theory

Answer 26

used categories and external cues.
procedure: ppts remember 48 words (12 categories with 4 words) eg. fruit (category heading) apple etc.
control group - asked to recal words (free recall) - 40% words recalled
ppts given category headings (cues recall) - 60% words recalled

Question 27

name a study of context dependent forgetting

Answer 27

Hidden and Baddeley (1975)

Question 28

explain Godden and Baddeley’s study of context dependent forgetting

Answer 28

procedure: divers learnt a list a of words either underwater or on land and then recalled either underwater or on land.
group 1: learnt on land - recalled on land
group 2: learnt on land - recalled underwater
group 3: learnt underwater - recalled on land
group 4: learnt underwater- recalled underwater.
findings: when settings were the same, they recalled more words. the similarity of the contexts provided retrieval cues.
recalled on land: learnt on land = 37%. learnt underwater = 23%
recalled underwater: learnt on land = 24%. learnt underwater = 32%

Question 29

name a study of state dependent forgetting

Answer 29

Goodwin et al. (1969)

Question 30

explain Goodwin ye al’s study of date dependent forgetting

Answer 30

procedure: medical students taught tasks
condition 1: learnt drunk - recall sober
condition 2: learnt drunk - recall drunk
condition 3: learnt sober - recall drunk
condition 4: learnt sober - recall sober
findings: better recall when learning and recall happen in the same state

Question 31

state two strengths of retrieval failure theory

Answer 31

lots of evidence supports: increases validity - studies from real life situations
and
have useful everyday applications: real life applications in the cognitive interview used in eye whiteness testimony

Question 32

state two limitations of retrieval failure theory

Answer 32

context effects are not actually very strong in real life: different contexts have to be very different before an effect is seen, eg. learning in one room than recalling in another will have little effect on recall.
and
context effects o lay occur when memory is tested in certain ways: Godden and Baddeley replicated the divers experiment with a recognition test rather than recall test and there was no context dependent effect - recall was the same in all four conditions.